The Science of What Makes People Care

Effective communication is not simply about getting your message out. It requires you to strategically tap into what shapes people’s feelings and values. Here we share five principles pulled from social science that will help you connect your work to what people care most about.

On March 10, 1748, John Newton, a 22-year-old English seaman who had worked in the slave trade, was traveling home on a merchant ship after a series of misadventures, including being captured and enslaved in Sierra Leone. On that day, a violent storm struck just off the coast of Donegal, Ireland. Rocks ripped a hole in the side of the ship, and it seemed unlikely that the vessel would make it safely to shore. Newton prayed and committed to devote his life to Christianity if the ship was spared. …

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Ann Christiano is the Frank Karel Chair in Public Interest Communications and director of the Center for Public Interest Communications at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications.

Annie Neimand is research director for the Center for Public Interest Communications at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications.

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